The first few days back at the Academy were a surreal exercise in calculated mediocrity. To the outside world, the Orizon-Sub expedition had been a grueling but ultimately standard "stress-test" mission. Lucas and Cora were funneled back into the rhythm of the First-Year curriculum, blending into the sea of black-and-gold uniforms that flooded the lecture halls of the Aetheric Arts Wing.
Under the watchful eye of the Elders, Lucas had to play the part of the "unremarkable archivist" once more. But beneath the surface, his world was an intricate web of data and hidden power.
The first major activity was the Mid-Semester Combat Assessment. The students were gathered in the Grand Coliseum, a massive bowl of white marble where automated golems tested their reflexes and mana-density.
As Lucas waited in line, his left eye flared with a faint, midnight-violet ring—the Sphinx's Eye. Through the lens of Moxie's evolved perception, he scanned his companions' beasts, curious to see how the ruins had truly changed them.
The Grand Coliseum buzzed as Cora stepped onto the sands for her Combat and Affinity Evaluation. The High Elders watched from their high balconies, their porcelain masks reflecting the sun.
"Candidate Cora, transferee from the Southern Branch," the Proctor announced, tapping a tablet. "Demonstrate your primary affinity."
Cora gave a small, shy wave, looking every bit the harmless transferee. But beneath her skin, the Mercury Child vibrated at a frequency that hummed against Lucas's own soul. She opened her "Blue" Grimoire, and instead of a skeletal phalanx, a massive wave of glowing jasmine vines erupted from the arena floor.
The vines were beautiful, vibrant, and smelled of a spring morning—but through the Sphinx's Eye, Lucas saw the horror beneath the mask. The "vines" were actually calcified necro-tendrils, and the "fragrance" was a paralyzing miasma that the silver mercury was filtering into a pleasant scent. The test golem was shredded in seconds, pinned by "flowers" that had the structural integrity of obsidian.
"An impressive display of Flora-manipulation," the Proctor noted, marking a high grade. "A fine addition to the first-year ranks."
The power dynamic of the First-Year class had become a powder keg of hidden potential. With the official registration of Cora as a transferee, the Academy's ledger now recognized four elite Blue Grimoire holders among the freshmen. However, the true danger lay in the fact that the Academy only truly "knew" two of them.
While Venice and Benson operated as the public faces of the prodigy class, Lucas and Cora moved through the halls as ghosts, their true grimoires masked by layers of ancient mercury and temporal distortion.
As the Mid-Term Examinations loomed, the Academy proctors began intensive tracking of the four "shining stars." Lucas used his Sphinx's Eye to analyze the competition, mapping out the battlefield of the upcoming exams.
The power dynamic within the freshman class was anchored by four elite individuals, each wielding a Blue Grimoire, yet only two were operating with their true identities on public record.
Benson Sky-Rupture served as the class's primary aggressor, utilizing his Storm-Winged Peregrine (Silver Rank, Level 3) to maintain a high-speed, glass-cannon Reaper playstyle with no hidden complexities. In contrast, Venice Everbloom acted as the group's crowd control specialist; her Ancient Willow Tree (Silver Rank, Level 2) marked her as a tactical Weaver who was formidable but strictly bound by the natural laws of flora-affinity.
The remaining two prodigies operated under heavy layers of deception to evade the Elders' scrutiny. Cora, the mysterious transferee, played the role of the wildcard by masking her Calamity-Tier Necromantic Core and her Grave-Weaver Spider behind the facade of a "Silver Jasmine" plant. Lucas, positioned as the hidden architect of the group, maintained his "Archivist" persona by registering a Bifurcated Cat as his beast. While the Academy saw a mundane feline, the reality was his Mythical-Tier Midnight Violet Grimoire, which housed the primordial powers of the White Dragon and the Sphinx.
The Mid-Term Assessment: "The Calibration"
The first phase of the exam was Aetheric Calibration, where students had to pulse their mana into a crystal monolith to measure density and purity.
Benson went first, his Peregrine shrieking as a bolt of azure lightning struck the stone. The monolith glowed bright blue, vibrating with the force of a Silver Rank, Level 3 beast. The proctors nodded, impressed. Venice followed, her Willow's roots wrapping around the base, causing the crystal to pulse with a steady, serene emerald light.
Then came the "Masked Duo."
Cora stepped up, humming a tune that sounded like a funeral dirge. She placed her hand on the stone. Beneath her skin, the Mercury Child hummed, converting her dark, cold necrotic mana into the "flavor" of a high-purity Flora affinity. The stone glowed a soft, silvery-green.
Internal Analysis: Lucas saw her mana-purity was actually off the charts, but the mercury "clipped" the peak of her signal, making her look like a talented but manageable student.
Lucas followed, his Bifurred Cat sitting lazily at his feet to complete the illusion. He didn't use Nyxia; her presence would have shattered the monolith instantly. Instead, he channeled a fraction of Moxie's cognitive mana through the cat's connection. The stone turned a deep, scholarly indigo.
Result: He landed exactly at the 85th percentile. "Stable but unremarkable," the proctor muttered. Lucas sighed in relief; the mask was holding.
Tactical Prep: The Freshman "Blue" Rivalry
Despite their disguise, the presence of two more Blue Grimoires didn't sit well with Benson. During a joint training session in the Simulation Chambers, he cornered Lucas and Cora.
"A transfer and a library rat," Benson sneered, his Peregrine's talons digging into his leather spaulder. "The Academy is getting soft. Having a Blue Book doesn't mean you have the stomach for a Reaper's work. Stay out of the high-rank brackets during the combat trials, or my bird might mistake your 'jasmine' for weeds."
"We'll try to stay out of your way, Benson," Lucas said, his voice level. Beside him, Cora was staring at Benson's neck, her eyes tracing his jugular with a terrifying, predatory focus that only Lucas could see.
"He has a very loud pulse," Cora whispered as Benson walked away. "The Mercury Child says his blood tastes like ozone. It's... distracting."
"Keep it together, Cora," Lucas cautioned. "If you eat a fellow student before the finals, Val won't be able to save us."
That night, a small mechanical beetle crawled into Lucas's dormitory, carrying a microscopic scroll from Val.
"The High Priest is unsatisfied with the Calibration results. He suspects a 'Mana-Dampening' ritual is at play. For the Combat Phase, they are introducing Anti-Magic Obelisks to the arena. They want to strip your masks. Tell the Necromancer to prepare for a 'Physical-Only' bout. And Lucas... keep the Dragon in the book. If Nyxia breathes, the Elders will know Orizon-Sub didn't just collapse—it was conquered."
Lucas looked out his window at the floating spires of the High Elders. They were no longer just testing the students; they were hunting for the Anomaly.
"They want to strip our masks," Lucas murmured to the empty room. Moxie's voice echoed back, cold and sharp. "Then we shall show them a mask so terrifying, they will beg for the silence to return."
Lucas looked at the panel of moxie to contemplate
Moxie: Void-Sight Sphinx Panel
Based on the most recent data regarding her evolution and current capabilities, here is the updated beast panel for Moxie:
True Identity: Void-Sight Sphinx (Evolved from Wisdom Feline)
Rank: Silver Rank, Level 5
Affinities: Psychic / Void-Sight / Cognitive Processing
Physical Characteristics:
Possesses tree tails.
Features dense, iridescent fur.
Equipped with violet eyes capable of piercing illusions.
Core Capabilities:
Cognitive Link: Acts as a telepathic bridge for allies, allowing for instantaneous strategic coordination.
Void-Sight: Directly maps energy densities and bypasses high-level cloaking or illusions.
Psychic Static: Generates mental interference to disrupt enemy spell-casting or beast commands.